What I am doing differently this year

Dottie over at D and G Gardens and Crafts blog asked me what I was doing differently this year in my garden. I’d have to say there are no dramatic changes, just a shift in emphasis. I’m trying to work harder at maintaining what I have, rather than adding a lot of new plants. I want to keep the beds that are in good shape weeded and edged.

I have two goals I am working towards besides the maintenance. I want to renovate the Juneberry bed, finally win my war against the grasses that have infiltrated it. My second goal is to create an outdoor eating area.

How about you? What are you doing differently this year?

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About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She would be delighted to speak to your group about colchicums or other gardening topics. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002.

This year I’m trying to grow more things from seed in my container garden and I’m also trying to grow more edibles that can help keep grocery bills down. I’m attempting to grow lettuce on the windowsill. Good luck!

Thank you for asking Kathy! I am trying very hard to edit! I mean edit plants that have been given too free a hand! Like a Japanese anemone that while lovely each fall is smothering the heuchera….next is the hypericum, which seeds like crazy! I can rip out weeds, but it’s hard to compost the seedlings of plants! gail

I’m basically where you’re at too. Need to do a little undersplanting in my shrub border, but my major goal is to do gardening at the beginning of the week, and have Thursdays and Fridays off for other parts of life. This will require a good deal of discipline and organization because I have a huge garden.

I agree, you have a huge garden. And what are you going to do if the weather doesn’t cooperate with your schedule? I always want to scehdule appointments for rainy days, but it’s hard to know which days will be rainy 6 months in advance!

I’m adding a new bed for native & beneficial plants for the bees & butterflies. I’m also adding a few new raised beds for veggies as well as a small orchard in the back (7 trees planted so far this year). I also like you am hoping to keep you with what I already have while finding time to decrease the lawn for more flower & veggie beds.

I have to remember that it’s not a race and that my garden will never be finished, so it’s not a big deal if I don’t get it done this year.

I’m actually hoping to get into my garden for more than a couple of hours this year. (removing the beaver dam the utility work crews left in my pond this winter doesn’t count)
– on the other side of the coin – I’ve been doing tons of stone work and very little gardening for others this year.

I’d like to enter a spring where there were no major projects, but. . .
Last year’s new house foundation has given me two new banks to plant. Lawn is forbidden. One bank has been planted with 5 little American hazelnuts from the Conservations district. They have settled in and are leafing out. They will be underplanted with an artemesia (Silver King?) that I bought at a plant sale. It came with a warning – plant where it can run. This spring I dug up many runner roots which have been successfully transplanted. The other bank is turning into a Rose Bank. It has an old rose that was growing at the corner of the house when we moved here, 3 double red Knock Outs, a new Pink Grootendorst rugosa, and some Dash’s Dart Rugosa runners I dug up on The Rose Walk. I am hoping those rugosas will spread and spread. Then there is the Potager and the new Entry Bed, but I’ve already said too much.

I am working on finding some foundation evergreens and shrubs for the back yard, for privacy’s sake. We had 2 trees, a large pine and a giant cottnwood, that were removed last summer. We tilled and seeded the yard and now have grass! (no small accomplishment since the yard was dirt and weeds before.)

I did some arranging of plants already there last year, and this year I need to find 3 evergreens and 3-4 bushes. flowering perhaps that all get no higher than 10 feet or so.

Then I can fill in with some smaller plantings – I have been bitten by the gardening bug for sure! Last year was when my passion flared – can’t believe it took me this long to realize how wonderful gardening is!

Oh and we’re expanding the vegetable garden this year, had a small one last year with much success! Love your blog – been reading for a while but never commented (and now I write a novel :)) Sorry.

I’m reworking my front bed. I inherited it 4 years ago and have been improving on it ever since. There were so many things that I inherited that just didn’t do well and being a new gardener I was afraid to take them out. But finally the past 2 years I’ve realized that there is no sense in struggling with plants that just aren’t working well for an area or are too high maintenance for me. It’s a learning experience every day. -Jackie

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